Here’s how to add custom environments to your Oculus Home.
Call me simple, but one of my favorite aspects of both the SteamVR and Oculus platforms is the ability to upload custom home environments. Whether it be the gargantuan control room of the legendary Death Star or the infamous TV room at Planet Express, there’s something oddly comforting about slipping on a VR headset and being greeted by a familiar environment.
Thanks to the hard work of several committed developers, that same feeling can now be enjoyed on Oculus Quest with the unofficial arrival of custom Oculus Home environments.
Taking advantage of the Quest’s sideloading capabilities, you can now spice up your Oculus Home with a growing lineup of custom 3D environments plucked directly from your favorite films, tv shows, and games. This includes the living room from The Simpsons, Rick’s garage from Rick And Morty, the Death Star hangar as featured in Star Wars, the flight deck of the N7 Normandy spacecraft from the Mass Effect trilogy, and the Holodeck from Star Trek, just to name a few. Some of these environments even include audio SFX, music, and various animations.
Interested in mixing up your Oculus Home experience? Here’s how to get started adding custom environments:
Before you can begin uploading your new environment you’ll need to uninstall your current default environment. The best way to go about this is through the PC/Mac app SideQuest; simply connect your headset, head to the Apps section, and delete com.oculus.environment.prod.rifthome (“Classic” Rift Home) or com.oculus.environment.prod.winterlodge.
From here, simply download the APK of the environment you’d like to use and sideload it to your connected headset via SideQuest. If your environment doesn’t load immediately, simply choose another environment and then switch back.
A few of these custom environments even feature additional audio SFX and animations. The Simpsons environment, for example, features the shows theme song running on a loop. Adding audio requires you to sideload an additional settings app and then update your virtual environment. As previously custom environments for Quest is not officially supported by Oculus, so expect plenty of hiccups.
For a full list of the available environments and additional guidance, check out the Oculus Homes Discord. Interested in a specific environment but don’t see it listed? Check out this guide on how to get started creating your own 3D home environment.
Feature Image Credit: Vince Crusty and TycoTech @ Discord
